Owsley County, Kentucky
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 1 listed property in the county, first listed in 1982. Most listings are in or near Booneville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Kentucky is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Owsley titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP1 of 1 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
1 listed property
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Moyers Buildings | Booneville | 1982 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBOwsley was formed in 1843 (1843-06-01) from Breathitt, Clay, Estill.
OWSLEY created from BREATHITT, CLAY, and ESTILL.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusOwsley County population from 1850 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1850 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,774 | 5,335 | 4,942 | 6,874 | 7,820 | 8,957 | 7,324 | 5,369 | 5,709 | 4,858 | 4,051 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS15 cemeteries and 18 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 15 of 15 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Botner Cemetery |
| Callahan Cemetery |
| Cortland Cemetery |
| Griffith Cemetery |
| Horn Hill Cemetery |
| Howard Cemetery |
| John Tyler Brewer Cemetery |
| King Cemetery |
| Lerose Cemetery |
| McIntosh Cemetery |
| Morris Cemetery |
| Noble Cemetery |
| Pendergrass Cemetery |
| Shepherd Cemetery |
| Wilson Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 18 of 18
| Name |
|---|
| Big Spring Neighborhood |
| Brewer Neighborhood |
| Chestnut Neighborhood |
| Couch Fork Neighborhood |
| Couch Town Neighborhood |
| Elk Lick Neighborhood |
| Fish Creek Neighborhood |
| Hall Neighborhood |
| Hogg Neighborhood |
| Indian Creek Neighborhood |
| Moors Neighborhood |
| Needmore Neighborhood |
| Pleasant Neighborhood |
| Rock Spring Neighborhood |
| Rockhouse Neighborhood |
| Shephard Neighborhood |
| Stacey Neighborhood |
| Sugar Camp Neighborhood |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Owsley County, Kentucky
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.